Fed: Chemours ex-worker tried to sell trade secrets to China

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say a former employee of a chemical company that spun off from the DuPont Co. in 2015 has been charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets and sell them to Chinese investors.

An indictment unsealed this week accuses Chemours Co. ex-worker Jerry Jindong Xu of trying to steal information about sodium cyanide, a chemical used in mining. Chemours is the world's largest producer of sodium cyanide.

Arrested in New York in August, Xu remained in federal custody following a sealed bail hearing Tuesday. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Authorities say Xu was aided by an unnamed co-conspirator, a longtime DuPont employee who left the company in 2014 to open a mining consulting business.